Pfizer completes $160bn Allergan deal

Pharmaceutical company Pfizer has completed a $160 billion acquisition of generics company Allergan.

The newly formed company will be valued at more than $300 billion, making it the biggest drug manufacturer in the world. Currently, Johnson & Johnson holds that position with a market value of $283 billion.

Reports of a proposed deal between Pfizer and Allergan appeared last month, although both parties were keen to stress that the talks were at an early stage.

The deal was concluded today, November 23. Ian Read, the current chief executive of Pfizer, will head the company as chairman, while Brent Saunders, Allergan’s chief executive, will serve as president.

Read said: "Allergan’s businesses align with and enhance Pfizer’s businesses, creating best-in-class, sustainable, innovative and established businesses that are poised for growth.

"Through this combination, Pfizer will have greater financial flexibility that will facilitate our continued discovery and development of new innovative medicines for patients, direct return of capital to shareholders, and continued investment in the US, while also enabling our pursuit of business development opportunities on a more competitive footing within our industry,” he added.

The deal follows Pfizer’s acquisition of drug company Hospira in February for $17 billion. In August, the European Commission and the US approved the deal after determining that it would not violate anti-competition laws.